Chapter 6 - The Ex-Parte Order
The fluorescent lights of Rebecca Sterling’s conference room hummed softly, cutting through the shadows of the early Phoenix morning. I sat at the glass table, my laptop open to the forensic ledger, while Rebecca paced near the window with her phone pressed to her ear.
"I don't care that Judge Callahan is on a breakfast rotation," Rebecca said, her voice sharp and uncompromising. "This is an emergency asset diversion involving a fraudulent corporate override on a pre-marital residential estate. If those accounts don't freeze before the electronic clearinghouse processes at nine o'clock, three hundred thousand dollars vanishes into a shell account in Delaware. Get him on the line right now."
She clicked off without waiting for a reply, tossing the phone onto the leather blotter. She turned to me, her expression a mix of professional admiration and caution.
"Marcus Vance is already transmitting the digital audit trail directly to the clerk of courts," Rebecca said, pulling out a chair opposite me. "If Callahan grants the emergency ex-parte injunction, Brandon’s override will be reversed instantly, and Apex Medical’s commercial lines tied to your property will be locked down pending a federal fraud investigation. But Megan, you need to understand what happens next."
"I know," I said, resting my hands on my swollen stomach. "Brandon's company takes the hit."
"More than that," Rebecca corrected gently. "Apex Medical is a regional distributor. If their credit lines freeze, their primary supplier—Crossline Brand Strategy—goes down with them. Jillian Cross won't just lose her business partner; she’ll face direct civil and potentially criminal exposure for accepting fraudulent transfers."
Before I could answer, my phone buzzed on the table.
It wasn't Brandon.
It was a text message from an unknown number, coming through just as the clock on the wall flipped to 7:45 AM.
We need to talk before you go to court, the message read. It’s about Brandon’s father. And why Brandon was so desperate for money in the first place.
I stared at the screen, my breath catching in my throat.
"What is it?" Rebecca asked, noticing the change in my expression.
"I don't know," I whispered, showing her the screen. "It's from an unknown number."
"Could be a bluff from Brandon's legal team," Rebecca said, leaning in to read it. "An attempt to delay the injunction."
May you like
"Maybe," I murmured, watching the flashing cursor on the screen. "Or maybe there's a reason Brandon risked everything to steal three hundred thousand dollars—something he wasn't spending on hotel rooms in San Diego."
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